Duel of the Gods
by Yuzuru's-Angel
Summary: Three students from Duel Academy are chosen to represent the Egyptian Gods as they fight for supremacy. However, they find that darker forces are at work, and one God will stop at nothing to win... Set roughly 10 years after GX.
1. Enter Slifer!

**Yugioh GX**

**Duel of the Gods**

_**Hey hey hey everyone! Here's my first Yugioh GX Fanfic; Hope you like it!**_

_**Summary: Three students from the prestigious Duel Academy are chosen to represent the Egyptian Gods as they battle for supremacy amongst the Gods. However, many darker forces are at work, and one god will stop at nothing to win...**_

_**Please Read, REVIEW, and Enjoy!**_

**Chapter One – Enter Slifer!**

Dark, ominous clouds were forming overhead as Tokoi ran down the street at full speed, heading towards the Duel Academy entrance exams.

_Of all the days to sleep in, why did it have to happen today? _He thought as he ran. Suddenly, a gust of wind and rain caused him to lose his balance and slip, falling face-first into the ground.

Tokoi groaned and sat up, holding onto his now-aching nose...But something caught his eye. A small object flowing through the wind, coming his way. _Is that...a card?_

Now ignoring the pain in his face, Tokoi stood and followed the card with his gaze. It was definitely being blown his way, but the wind could shift at any moment. Knowing this, he quickly ran up to a nearby railing and climbed up onto it, barely able to stay standing on the slippery metal.

Once the card came close, Tokoi leapt out and grabbed hold of it, doing a luckily-executed roll to help break his fall. He let out a sigh of relief, then took a look at the card he held in his hand...

His breath was taken from him. _No...this can't be, _he thought. It was a little different from other cards, whereas most monster cards had a yellow background to it, this one had red. At the top, the name 'Slifer the Sky Dragon' was clearly printed.

_I'm holding one of the legendary God cards? _Tokoi stood and was hit by a gust of wind, holding the card close to him so he doesn't lose it. The rain suddenly started up again, so he quickly placed the card in his inside-jacket pocket, not wanting to ruin it. Then, realizing he was still late, he began to run again, the location of the entrance exam just in sight.

* * *

><p><em>How am I expected to beat a senior student of Obelisk Blue? <em>Calvin thought with a sigh. He was one of the last people to duel. It was his second year taking the entrance exam, and, so far, things weren't going his way.

**Calvin: 200**

**Drake: 2000**

Calvin gazed at the tall, slender senior who was facing him on the other side of the dueling field, dawning a blue jacket, representing the Obelisk Blue dorm. In front of him were two Totem Dragons, and, on Calvin's side of the field, one Strike Ninja in attack mode.

"Now kid, are you ready for this?" Drake said. He took a spell card from his hand and played it to the field. "I'll play White Dragon Ritual, and tribute my two Totem Dragons in order to bring in the Paladin of White Dragon!" As he spoke, his two dragons faded into a white light, and dark clouds formed over him. A spiral of white light came down onto the field, eventually revealing the Paladin of White Dragon.

_That's not good! _Calvin thought. The senior smirked. "Now, I'll attack your Strike Ninja and end this!"

Paladin of White Dragon flew up into the air, then dove down towards Strike Ninja. However, Calvin revealed his one face-down card. "I'm not going down yet! I'll activate Spirit Barrier!"

The trap card let off a shield of light in front of Calvin, and, as Strike Ninja was destroyed, he took no battle damage.

Drake shook his head. "Just stalling, I see. Well, I'll end my turn then." he said.

Calvin nodded and drew. He now had four cards in his hand, and, to his relief, he knew exactly what he could do.

"I'll start off by playing Book of the Moon to flip your Paladin of White Dragon to face-down defense mode," he said, and watched as the card flipped face-down. "Now I'll place a monster in defense mode, and activate Book of Taiyou to flip it over!"

Calvin's monster emerged from the card, revealing itself as White Ninja. Drake was surprised, knowing exactly what was going to happen. "Now, I'll activate White Ninja's effect to destroy your defense-position monster!"

The face down Paladin of White Dragon shattered, leaving Drake defenseless. Calvin then played the last card in his hand. "I'll use Fuhma Shuriken and attach it to my White Ninja, giving it just enough to take you out!"

White Ninja's attack was boosted to 2300. The Ninja ran at alarming speed at Drake, giving swift hits to him, and dealing enough damage to end the duel. The monster hologram faded, and a few cheers could be heard from the students watching.

Calvin gave a sigh of relief and wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead. The two duelists approached each other and shook hands.

"Good job kid, that last move you pulled was pretty neat." Drake told him. He then turned and walked away, and Calvin was left with a sense of pride in himself.

As he made his way up into the stands to watch the last couple of duels, he couldn't help but notice that someone was arguing near the entrance to the building. It was a kid, probably about the same age as him, talking with one of the security personnel.

"What do you mean? There's got to be someone I can duel!" the boy exclaimed. The man sighed and shook his head.

"Look...Tokoi, was it? You're the one who got here late, and there's nothing I can do about that!" he told him, trying to sound calm.

"But I'm here, aren't I?" Tokoi said. The man face-palmed in a way that said "Please let this end!"

Calvin approached the two of them. "Hey, he can duel me if he wants." he suggested. The man raised an eyebrow at him.

"That's not how it works. You have to face a Staff Member, or someone who's already a student of the school." he told them.

"But I just won my duel, so technically, I'm a part of the school now!" Calvin said. Tokoi smiled at him. _I'm glad he came in. Maybe I'll get my chance after all!_

"Well..." the man thought about it for a moment...

"I think I'd like to duel him." came a voice from behind. They turned, and the man suddenly seemed flustered. A girl approached them, and both Tokoi and Calvin blushed at the fact that she was very attractive.

"M-Miss Blaze." the man said, formally bowing to her. The girl had scarlet hair that seemed to go well with her name, and, instead of a colored jacket representing her dorm, she wore a white, sleeveless one-piece with sleeves on her fore-arms. Around her neck was silver necklace with a small, amethyst at the front of it.

"The first person I dueled wasn't much of a challenge, so I'm up for giving this one a shot." Blaze said with a smile, which made Tokoi grin as well.

He stepped forward and extended his hand to her. "Sounds good!" he said, and they shook hands.

* * *

><p>"Now, for the final duel of the day, we have one of our best, Miss Blaze Roseburn, up against our late entrant, Tokoi Konoda!" the announcer said over the microphone. Murmurs and cheers began to come from the onlooking students and faculty.<p>

The four small dueling fields had been taken down, leaving one large one for the two of them to duel on. Tokoi felt a slight nervousness as he approached it, knowing that all eyes were on them.

"Think you're ready for this?" Blaze asked, placing her deck inside of her blue Academy Duel Disk and activating it.

"I was born ready!" Tokoi said confidently, shuffling his deck a bit, then placing it into his disk and activating it as well.

**Tokoi: 4000**

**Blaze: 4000**

The two drew their first hand, and Blaze grinned at her cards. "I'll go first," she said, drawing another card, "And I'll start off by playing Volcanic Slicer!"

The large, metal dinosaur-looking monster rose up on the field. _1800 attack? That's pretty good for a first monster, _Tokoi thought.

"Now, I'll activate his effect to deal 500 damage to your life points!" Blaze said. Volcanic Slicer opened its mouth, and breathed a flurry of fire upon Tokoi. He flinched at the slight shock, but didn't let his surprise at the first move show. "Then I'll place two cards face down, and end my turn."

**Tokoi: 3500**

"That was a strong first move," Tokoi commented as he drew his card, "But I'll give you one better!"

Tokoi placed a spell card on the field. "I'll activate Wind-Up Factory, so now, when I activate the effect of a Wind-Up monster, I get to find a level 4 Wind-Up monster from my deck and add it to my hand," he explained, "Now, I'll summon Wind-Up Soldier in attack mode!"

The toy robot-like monster appeared on the field. "Now, I'll activate his effect to raise his level by one, and his attack by 400!" Wind-Up Soldier began to wind up, and a green glow appeared around it. "Thanks to that, I get another monster from my deck." Tokoi looked through his deck, and found what he wanted after only a moment and added it to his hand. After re-shuffling, he placed his deck back into the disk.

"Now, I'll attack your Volcanic Slicer!" Tokoi said. Wind-Up Soldier sprang forward, ready to slam into the metallic monster.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Blaze said, revealing one of her trap cards, "Because I'm going to use Energy Drain!" A stream of energy came from Tokoi's cards in his hands and attached to Volcanic Slicer. "With this, my monster gains 200 Attack for each card in your hand."

_But that makes it...2800! _Tokoi realized, and his Wind-Up Soldier was obliterated by a burst of flame from the Volcanic Slicer. He flinched a little as he took some life point damage.

**Tokoi: 2900**

Blaze grinned at him. "Still think you've got what it takes?" she asked.

"Of course! This isn't over yet!" Tokoi told her, placing two cards face down. "I'll just put these down and end my turn."

She nodded to him and drew her card. "I'll summon Fire Princess, then I'll play Soul Absorption!" The princess arose to the field in a flurry of flames, matching her crimson-red dress and staff. "With Soul Absorption on the field, I gain 500 life points each time a card is removed from play!"

Blaze placed down another spell. "Knowing that, I'll use Soul Fire, which lets you draw a card, but I get to remove a Pyro monster from my deck and remove it from play, dealing half its attack points to you as damage!"

Tokoi gulped and drew a card to his hand. Blaze looked through her deck, then removed a card from play. The monster's fiery spirit arose and flew in at Tokoi, hitting him and dealing 900 damage to him.

"Of course, now that I removed a card from play, I gain 500 life points. Can't forget about my Fire Princess's special ability too, which allows me to deal 500 damage to you any time that I gain life points!" she said. Fire Princess aimed her staff at Tokoi, blasting a fire-ball at him and dealing even more damage. "Luckily for you though, I can't attack on the turn I use Soul Fire."

**Tokoi: 1500**

**Blaze: 4500**

_This isn't looking good! _Calvin thought as he watched, _He hasn't even dealt any damage to Blaze yet!_

Tokoi grunted at the shock of the damage he took. His heart suddenly beat incredibly hard, causing him to clutch his chest for a moment. When he did, he could feel Slifer in his jacket pocket, suddenly remembering that it was there.

"_**Prove to me that you are worthy..." **_a deep, rumbling voice said. Tokoi looked around, but didn't see anyone around.

"Hey, are you alright over there?" Blaze asked, obviously worried about his reaction to the last hit.

"Oh, it's...nothing." he lied.

"Well then, I place one card face down, and now it's your turn," she told him, "And it'll probably be your last, so try to go out fighting, will ya'?"

"Getting pretty cocky, aren't you?" Tokoi said jokingly as he drew his card. _This will work just fine, _he thought. "I'm going to special summon Cyber Dragon from my hand, since you have monsters on your side of the field and I don't!" The large, cybernetic dragon came onto the field.

"Wow, that's a strong card!" Calvin exclaimed. Blaze was obviously impressed as well.

"I'm not done yet!" Tokoi exclaimed, placing down a spell. "I'm going to use Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of your Soul Absorption, then I'll activate my trap card: Call of the Haunted!"

A spiral storm appeared below Soul Absorption and took in the card, destroying it. Then, Tokoi's Wind-Up Soldier arose from the graveyard due to Call of the Haunted's effect.

"And now, I'll attack your Volcanic Slicer with Cyber Dragon, and your Fire Princess with my Wind-Up Soldier!" Tokoi said. Cyber Dragon fired a blast of energy at Volcanic Slicer, destroying it, and Wind-Up Soldier slammed into Fire Princess, doing the same.

**Blaze: 3900**

Blaze flinched a bit as she took some life point damage. "Not bad, but you don't catch up any time soon, because I activate my Gem Flash Energy trap!" she said. "During my standby phase, you take 300 damage for each Continuous Spell Card on your side of the field."

"That's not so bad," Tokoi said confidently, "So I guess I'll place one more face-down card and end my turn."

Blaze drew her card. "Now, you'll take 300 damage from my Gem Flash Energy!" she told him, and the card sent a ball of energy spiraling at Tokoi, hitting him and dealing its damage.

**Tokoi: 1200**

"Now, I'll activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards." A green pot appeared on the field, then shattered when Blaze drew her two cards. She couldn't help but grin. "Now I'll play Blaze Accelerator, then sacrifice it to bring in Blaze Tri-Accelerator!" A large machine with three cannons appeared on Blaze's side of the field.

"What is that?" Tokoi asked.

"Well, its effect doesn't matter too much, but it'll be staying for a bit until it's not longer needed." she said. "I'll end my turn there."

Tokoi couldn't help but show his surprise at the fact that Blaze was wide open for an attack. He drew his card, then said, "Looks like you're open for an attack, so I'll summon Wind-Up Warrior in attack mode!" The toy warrior stood with the other monsters of Tokoi's. "Now, I'll attack you with everything and end this!"

"I don't think so, because I activate my face-down card, Negate Attack!" Blaze said. A vortex of energy appeared in the middle of the field, and Tokoi's monsters hit it, then jumped back, unable to move any further. "That stops your attack and ends your battle phase."

"Well, I guess you gave yourself one more turn then." he said, and Blaze grinned.

"I don't think so," she said as she drew, "I'll start with you taking 300 damage from Gem Flash Energy!" Once again, the trap card sent a spiral of energy at Tokoi, dealing its damage to him.

**Tokoi: 900**

"And now, I'm going to sacrifice my Tri-Accelerator to summon Volcanic Doomfire!" The large machine shattered, and an eruption of fire came up from the ground. A large, dark creature arose, with fire spewing from its head and its arms. It was much larger than any of the other monsters on the field, and its 3000 attack was much greater than theirs as well.

"Now, I'm going to end this by attacking your Wind-Up Soldier!" she said, and her Volcanic Doomfire raised its arm, ready to bring it down upon the much smaller monster.

Tokoi's heart pounded hard again. _I... won't lose this!_

"I'm going to activate my trap card, Overwind!" Tokoi exclaimed. "Now my Wind-Up Soldier gets double attack and defense, enough to take on your monster!"

As Volcanic Doomfire attempted to crush Wind-Up Soldier, it began to wind itself at an incredible speed, and stopped the attack in mid-motion. It then leapt forward and slammed into the monster, destroying it instantly, and dealing 600 damage to Blaze.

**Blaze: 3300**

"Now that it's all done, Wind-Up Soldier returns to my hand." The monster dissipated, and Tokoi put him back into his hand.

_That was amazing! _Calvin thought, standing along with a few other students who were in disbelief at what was happening.

"Well played..." Blaze said, obviously surprised herself.

Tokoi grinned. "I guess it's my move now!" he said, drawing a card. "I'll play my Wind-Up Soldier again, and activate his effect once more. Then, I'll use Wind-Up Warrior's effect to increase my Soldier's level by 1 and attack by 600, giving him a grand total of 2800!" The Wind-Up Soldier began to glow with immense energy. "Now, Wind-Up Soldier, Cyber Dragon, and Wind-Up Warrior: Attack!"

The three monsters all attacked Blaze directly, causing her to fall to one knee as a shock flows through her. Instantly, the students and faculty watching stood and cheered for Tokoi.

**Tokoi: 900**

**Blaze: 0**

"Tokoi is the winner!" the announcer said. Tokoi waved to all of the onlookers, then made is way over to Blaze and offered her a hand. She smiled at him and took it, standing to wave at the crowds as well.

"You're pretty tough," Blaze said, "I think you'd fit in well with the Obelisk Blues. I can put in a good word for you."

"Really? That'd be awesome!" Tokoi told her. However, a pain crossed his chest again.

"_**You will serve me and only me." **_came the voice again. Tokoi had a sudden realization and felt the card in his jacket. _Is that...Slifer speaking to me?_

"What is it, Tokoi?" Blaze asked, seeing once more that he's a bit flustered.

"I, uh...I think I have to turn down that offer," he told her, then he stumbled to explain himself as she showed a look of surprise, "I just think I'd be better off starting from the bottom and working my way up. I mean, you're definitely way out of my league! I-I mean, for dueling, that is."

Blaze giggled, which caused Tokoi to blush a bit. "I see. Well, hopefully I'll still see you around then." she told him, touching his hand for a moment before walking away.

Tokoi sighed. _I don't know if I'm going crazy or not, turning down an invitation to Obelisk Blue just because I'm hearing a voice in my head..._

"I didn't think you'd make it!" came Calvin's voice from behind. Tokoi turned to him and shrugged.

"I didn't think so either, but, well...Here I am!" he said. They both shared a small laugh, then Tokoi told him about the invitation he was given.

"What? You didn't take it?" Calvin exclaimed.

"Not so loud!" Tokoi told him, looking around, "I just feel like I need to start from the bottom if I really want to become good, you know?"

Calvin shook his head. "Sounds stupid to me, but I guess it's not my decision. I figure that I'll be in Ra Yellow anyways." He let a smug look slip onto his face.

"Well, I guess we won't see each other that much then," Tokoi said, "But thanks a lot for sticking up for me back there."

"It's no problem." Calvin said with a grin, and they both shook hands.

* * *

><p>"Well, so much for Ra Yellow!" Tokoi exclaimed smugly. He and Calvin stood in front of the Slifer Red dorm, dawning their red school jackets.<p>

"Shut up." Calvin said glumly. They headed upstairs to the third room on the second floor, then opened the door and peered inside.

It looked comfy enough, but it was bit tight on space. "It's...not what I'd expect." Tokoi said.

"Well, the Slifer Reds are the lowest of the low, so we're going to be treated like that, I'm sure." Calvin said as he headed over to the beds and threw his stuff onto the top bunk.

"Hey, who said you get the top?" Tokoi said. Calvin stuck his tongue out at him and quickly scrambled up to the top, as if making it clear that it was his. Tokoi sighed and took the bottom, laying down and letting out a sigh of relief.

_I'm here, and my dream is getting closer to becoming a reality! _Tokoi thought. He took Slifer out of his jacket pocket and gazed at it for a moment. _But with this...I don't know what troubles ahead, _he thought.

"Oh yeah, we need to go to the welcome dinner!" Calvin exclaimed, jumping down from his bed. Tokoi quickly slipped Slifer underneath his pillow and stood to follow him out...

Once he was at the door, Tokoi glanced back once more at where he had hid the card, then closed the door and left.

**To be continued...**

**Next Chapter: First Rival**


	2. Wound Up

_**This chapter is pretty much filler, but still, please do enjoy!**_

**Chapter Two – Wound Up**

"Welcome all freshman and returning students to Duel Academy!" the Chancellor spoke. Her name was Hale, and she was a tall, slender woman who looked much younger than she actually was. Her hair was a long, brown swirl that nearly matched her light-brown jacket, which slightly resembled the ones the students wore.

The class all stood in segregated rows, depending on their dorm color, standing at attention. "Blue, Yellow, and Red alike, we are all here for the sole purpose of becoming the best of the best!" she continued.

_This is pretty much how I'd expect this speech to go, _Tokoi thought with a sigh, letting his mind drift from the happenings. He looked around at his fellow classmates, noting that the Blues looked like snobby rich kids, whereas the Ra Yellows appeared to be respectable, at least. As for his dorm-mates, they were all slouched, geeky, or a combination of both.

Tokoi tuned back in as everyone began to clap. "...Now, I will let Vice-Chancellor Rhodes tell you about the duelists chosen for the first duel of the year!" Chancellor Hale said, stepping to the side and allowing Rhodes to step up.

Tokoi raised an eyebrow at the man who stepped up. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, along with sunglasses and a pair of sandals. "Sorry about my appearance, but I just got back from doing some surfing, so I didn't have much time to change." he told everyone apologetically. Several murmurs and giggles came from some of the girls, and a lot of guys rolled their eyes.

"It's my second year here as Vice-Chancellor, so I'm still pretty new here, but believe me, I've seen my share of great duelists when I was a student here!" Rhodes said, "And now, I get the honor of telling you who the two chosen duelists are for the first duel of the year!"

Upon him saying that, the screen behind him turned on, showing the silhouettes of two students. "I received a request from one of our well-respected students, Miss Blaze, to allow one of our new freshmen to participate in this duel!"

Upon hearing that, Tokoi gulped. _Wait, so does that mean... _As if on cue, the silhouette on the right of the screen faded in to become Tokoi's picture. Several people turned and looked over at him, silent, and he sighed. _Why me?_

"As for his opponent, our very own top-ranking student, Gero, will be dueling!" Rhodes continued, and several cheers came from the Obelisk Blues. They all turned to Gero, a smug-looking Blue student, and started to tell him how easy he'll have it, since he's facing a Slifer Red.

"I know that it may seem odd, an Obelisk and a Slifer dueling, but I'm sure we'll get an exciting battle no matter what!" Rhodes exclaimed, and several students cheered. _Seems like everyone definitely likes him, _Tokoi thought.

A nudge to his side made Tokoi turn around. It was Calvin, who was looking worried already. "What are you going to do?" he asked. Tokoi shrugged.

"I'll just do what I have to do, I guess," Tokoi said, looking over at Gero. _Maybe this will be just another way of proving myself for Slifer..._

* * *

><p>Tokoi knelt down and reached under his pillow, grabbing Slifergazing at it for a moment. <em>Maybe this duel will be the perfect time to unleash his power, <em>he thought.

Slipping Slifer somewhere in the middle of his deck, Tokoi stood. From the corner of his eye, he could see someone standing there, and jumped in surprise.

"Calvin? How long have you been standing there?" Tokoi asked. Calvin shrugged.

"Not that long, but I saw that you had some card. What was it?" he asked, obviously intrigued.

Tokoi sighed. "It's nothing," he said, walking past Calvin. However, the smaller boy jumped back in front of him.

"Hey, if it's something bad, I won't tell anybody!" Tokoi shook his head and tried to move past him again, but Calvin was much faster.

"Come on, I said it's nothing!" Calvin still wasn't buying it. Tokoi sighed and scratched the back of his head in thought. "Fine, how about this: If you beat me in a duel, I'll show you it, alright?"

Calvin's eyes lit up. "Now you're talking!"

"It'll be good practice for tonight's opening duel anyways," Tokoi said with a grin.

* * *

><p><strong>Tokoi: 4000<strong>

**Calvin: 4000**

The two of them stood a good distance apart in front of their dorm, which had a nice clearing that was perfect for dueling.

"I'll go first!" Calvin said as they drew their first five cards. He drew his sixth card and placed it in his hand, then placed one monster face-down on the field. "I'll start off by summoning Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke!" The armor-wearing ninja rose to the field, holding his two blades in an odd-looking stance. "Then I'll play The Allied Forces, which will increase my Warrior-type monsters' attack by 200 for each one I have on the field!"

Tokoi grinned. "Not bad," he commented as Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke's attack rose to 2000.

"I know, it's great isn't it? I'll end my turn by placing one card face-down." Calvin said, looking pretty cocky at that moment.

"Well, it's only a first move," Tokoi said as he drew his card, "So I'll just have to outdo you on that one!" He placed down a spell card. "I'll play Mind Control, so that I can take control of your Ninja until the end of turn!"

Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke leapt over to Tokoi's side of the field and faced Calvin. "Luckily for you though, he can't attack. I'll make up for that by summoning Wind-Up Soldier!" The toy soldier appeared onto the field. "And I'll activate his effect, so he gets 400 extra attack!"

Wind-Up Soldier began to glow, and he began to wind. "Now, I'll attack you directly!" The toy leapt forward towards Calvin and punched at him, dishing out an alarming 2200 attack to his life points.

Calvin flinched as he lost over half his life points.

**Calvin: 1800**

"Now I'll place two cards face-down, and end my turn." Tokoi said with a grin. Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke leapt back over to Calvin's side of the field.

"Well, I guess you got me there," Calvin said with a sigh as he drew his next card. "But I'll get my revenge, after I place one monster face down, then activate Book of Taiyou to flip it over!" The monster card flipped over, revealing another Ninja monster, who looked similar to his other. "Since he was flip summoned, Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo's effect kicks in, letting me get one Ninja monster from my deck and add it to my hand!"

Calvin got his deck and looked through it for a moment, before picking a card and putting it in his hand. Then, he reshuffled his deck and placed it back into his duel disk. "Don't forget, my Ninjas now get 400 extra attack thanks to The Allied Forces!" The Ninjas began to glow slightly purple as their power increased. "Now, Grandmaster Sasuke, attack his Wind-Up Soldier!"

The Ninja leapt forward and delivered a cross-slash with his blades, destroying the toy soldier. Tokoi barely flinched at the small shock as he took damage.

**Tokoi: 3600**

"Now that you're open, I'll attack you with my Grandmaster Hanzo!" The second ninja ran at lightning speed towards Tokoi and unsheathed his katana, delivering a clean slice at him to deliver its damage, making Tokoi react quite a bit to the shock.

**Tokoi: 1400**

"I'll end my turn there," Calvin said. "How was that?" Calvin grinned.

"Once again, not bad," Tokoi said, not wanting to show that he was nervous as he drew his next card. "I'll start off by activating my trap card, Call of the Haunted, to bring back my Wind-Up Soldier!" The toy soldier arose to the field once more. "Next, I'll summon Wind-Up Magician!"

The toy spellcaster came onto the field, floating above its card with staff in hand. "Now, I'll activate the spell card Wind-Up Factory, which I'm sure you recognize, then I'll activate Wind-Up Soldier and Wind-Up Magician's effects!"

Wind-Up Soldier began to glow like it had before, and Wind-Up Magician's staff began to glow. "Since my Wind-Up Soldier used its effect, my Magician's effect lets me summon one Wind-Up monster from my deck to my side of the field. Don't forget about Wind-Up Factory either, which lets me find one more from my deck and add it to my hand!" Tokoi took only a few seconds to search his deck and find what he wanted. "For my Magician's effect, I'll summon Wind-Up Warrior, in defense mode!"

The toy warrior came up onto the field, its arms crossed in front of it defensively. "Now, I'll use Wind-Up Warrior's effect to give my Wind-Up Soldier 600 more attack!" Wind-Up Soldier began to glow even more. "Now, I'll attack your Grandmaster Hanzo!"

Wind-Up Soldier shot forward towards Grandmaster Hanzo. "I'm going to activate Spirit Barrier, so that I take no damage from your attack as long as I have a monster on the field!" A barrier of light formed in front of Calvin, and, as Wind-Up Soldier destroyed Hanzo, no damage was taken.

"Well, that's disappointing," Tokoi said with a sigh. "I'll end my turn by playing one card face-down."

Calvin nodded and drew his card. "I'm going to play Fuhma Shuriken, and equip it to my Grandmaster Sasuke!" He played his spell, and Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke's blades transformed into two large throwing stars. "Now, I'll attack your Wind-Up Magician!"

Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke leapt into the air and threw the shuriken and the toy spellcaster. "Not so fast! I activate my trap card, Mirror Force!" Surprise flashed across Calvin's face as the shuriken hit a barrier of energy, then flew back and destroyed the Ninja.

"There goes your Ninja!" Tokoi said with a grin, but, suddenly, the shuriken emerged once more and flew at Tokoi, hitting him and dealing some damage.

Calvin chuckled. "When Fuhma Shuriken is destroyed, you take 700 damage to your life points!"

**Tokoi: 700**

_This isn't working out so well, _Tokoi thought.

"Now," Calvin began, "since I have no monsters on my side of the field, I'll special summon Earth Armor Ninja from my hand!" The brown-dressed Ninja card came onto the field, striking a pose. "I'll end my turn by placing one card face-down."

"Well then, here goes nothing..." Tokoi mumbled to himself. As he placed his hand on his deck, he felt a slight pulsating sensation come from it. He looked down and slowly drew his card...

It was Slifer. _I completely forgot that I had him in my deck, _he thought, looking at his field. He had three monsters, just enough to summon it. _But I don't know if it's the right time..._

A shocking sensation flowed through Tokoi, making him gasp. _**"Use my strength...Prove that you can..." **_came the voice of Slifer.

Tokoi looked at Calvin for a moment, who was totally oblivious of what he had just drawn. _No...I can't use you yet,_ Tokoi thought.

"I'm going to play my Hand Destruction, so we both send two cards to the graveyard, then draw two new cards!" Tokoi said as he played his spell. He hesitantly placed Slifer and another monster from his hand into the graveyard, then drew two cards. Calvin did the same.

"Now, I'm going to attack your ninja with my Wind-Up Soldier!" Tokoi said. The toy soldier leapt towards the Ninja much like before.

"Not so fast! I activate Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation, and I'll use it to remove my Ninja and your Wind-Up Soldier from the game!" The two monsters froze in place and erupted into a spiral of light, which ascended into the sky. "Now, I get to summon my ultimate card: White Dragon Ninja!"

Up above, a Ninja wearing white descended from the clouds, a long, white dragon following. Once she landed on the ground, the dragon settled on her arm, its long tail flowing behind them.

"You're no match for this card, because now, none of my spell and trap cards can be destroyed," Calvin said.

_That's incredibly strong, _Tokoi thought. _I guess Slifer wouldn't be too bad right now. _

"I'll switch my Wind-Up Magician to Defense mode, then place one card face-down and end my turn." he said.

Calvin drew his card, then grinned. "I'm going to activate The Warrior Returning Alive, so that I can bring back one Warrior-type monster from my graveyard." he said, taking out his graveyard and taking a monster from it. "Now for the return of Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo!"

The Ninja monster came onto the field once more. "Thanks to his effect, I can bring one Ninjitsu Art card from my deck to my hand," Calvin said, finding one in his deck, then shuffling it afterward. "Now, White Dragon Ninja will attack your Wind-Up Magician, and Grandmaster Hanzo will destroy your Wind-Up Warrior!"

White Dragon Ninja held her hand out towards Tokoi's Magician, and the dragon shot forward along her arm, clamping down onto the toy spellcaster and destroying it. Grandmaster Hanzo leapt forward and gave a clean slice through Wind-Up Warrior, destroying it as well.

"Then I guess I'll end my turn there," Calvin said.

Tokoi nodded, and drew his card. _Perfect, _he thought with a grin. "I'm going to start off by summoning Wind-Up Snail!" The jester-like toy monster came onto the field. "Now, due to its effect, I can send one set card on your side of the field back to your hand, and I'll choose your Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation!"

"Oh no," Calvin said, as his trap returned to his hand, and his White Dragon Ninja was destroyed.

"Next, I'll special-summon Wind-Up Shark from my hand, since I normal summoned a Wind-Up monster this turn!" The toy shark came onto the field. "Then I'll activate my trap card: Overwind, giving my shark a grand total of 3000 attack points!"

The shark began to wind up at an incredible speed, and it began to glow with immense power. "Now, attack his Grandmaster Hanzo!"

The shark swam forward through the air and slammed into Grandmaster Hanzo. "You've activated my trap, Ninjitsu Art of Decoy!" Hanzo disappeared into a puff of smoke, and Wind-Up Shark ended up hitting a log that replaced Grandmaster Hanzo. "Now, my Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo won't be destroyed in battle, even though I still take the damage."

**Calvin: 1000**

"Well, saved yourself there I guess," Tokoi said with a sigh. "Good thing I had a back-up plan!" He played a spell card on the field. "I'm going to use my Legendary Wind-Up Key to change all my monsters to face-down defense position!"

The monster cards on Tokoi's side of the field flipped over. "Now, I'll end my turn."

"Looks like you saved yourself too," Calvin said as he drew. "But with no cards in your hand, there's no way you can do anything to me, so I'm going to summon my second Grandmaster Sasuke!" The armored Ninja arose to the field just as it had before. "Now, I'm going to use my Grandmaster Sasuke's effect to destroy your face-down instantly, instead of doing battle calculation!"

Grandmaster Sasuke ran at the face down monster on the right, which Calvin knew was Wind-Up Warrior. It was destroyed instantly. "Now for your Snail!" he said, and his Grandmaster Hanzo ran forward and slashed through it.

_Great...Now I'm completely defenseless, _Tokoi thought. Calvin smirked. "Now it's your turn. And it'll be your last for sure!"

_I hope not... _Tokoi drew what could be his last card. _Monster Reborn? I don't think any of my monsters are strong enough to be brought back... _he thought. However, sudden realization overcame him. _Wait, but Calvin has a monster that's strong enough! _

"This isn't over yet, because I'm playing Monster Reborn, to bring back your White Dragon Ninja!" Tokoi said as he played his card. Calvin gasped and watched as his powerful card arose to Tokoi's side of the field. "Now, I'm going to take out your Grandmaster Sasuke!"

White Dragon Ninja held out her arm much like she had done before, and the dragon shot out towards Grandmaster Sasuke, crunching down onto him and destroying him. Calvin felt a slight shock as he took the damage.

**Calvin: 500**

"Now that your Hanzo is even weaker without Sasuke on the field, you're toast next turn!" Tokoi said with a grin.

Calvin gulped, then drew his card. "I'll...place one card face down, and switch my Grandmaster Hanzo to defense mode."

"That's it? Well then..." Tokoi drew another card. "I'll place a card face down as well, then destroy your Grandmaster Hanzo!" Once again, White Dragon Ninja destroyed his Ninja.

Calvin drew again, and sighed. "I'm going to end my turn here."

"Come on, are you giving up now?" Tokoi said playfully as he drew another card. "I guess this is it then, because I'm going to attack you directly!"

White Dragon Ninja prepared to attack again...But Calvin laughed. "Not once I activate my Ring of Destruction!" he said. Suddenly, a round, necklace-sort of object appeared around White Dragon Ninja. "It destroys one monster, and deals damage equal to their attack to both of our life points!"

"Wait, but that means..." Tokoi began to say. Calvin nodded.

"It's a tie!"

The necklace exploded, laying out some smoke on the field and making it impossible to see for a moment. When it cleared up, Tokoi was standing tall, while Calvin has dropped to one knee.

**Calvin: 0**

"Well, good try Calvin." Tokoi said with a grin.

**Tokoi: 700**

Calvin looked up at Tokoi, confused. A single spell card was on Tokoi's side of the field: Spell of Pain. "I'm guessing you know what that card does. It redirects any effect damage back to you, so you just took 5400 damage!"

Calvin sighed and stood up. "Well, you got me there." He shrugged. Tokoi walked up to him, and they exchanged a friendly handshake.

"But you know, I only really won this one by luck. Maybe next time I can show that I can really win!" Tokoi told him, and they both laughed for a moment, before someone cleared their voice loudly, causing them to turn towards the person.

It was a Ra Yellow Student, one who Tokoi remembered seeing in the crowd before. His hair was slicked-back, and he looked pretty fancy.

"Sorry, but I was watching the whole time because I didn't want to interrupt the duel," he started with a grin, "It was pretty good, I must admit. How you both ended up in Slifer Red is beyond me."

"Uh, thanks!" Tokoi dipped his head to him respectfully, and Calvin did the same. "My name's Tokoi, and this is Calvin." Tokoi thumbed over to his smaller friend, who waved.

"My name's Ballad, and it's a pleasure to speak to the freshman who was able to beat Blaze Roseburn." he said, dipping his head to them. "I actually came to tell you that the duel is about to start, so you should hurry it up and get to the dueling field!" he said.

Tokoi face-palmed. "Oh man, I almost forgot about it!" He, Calvin and Ballad quickly made their way towards the academy building.

* * *

><p>"Now that Tokoi has arrived, we can get this duel started!" Vice-Chancellor Rhodes said, and the students watching all cheered.<p>

Tokoi stepped out onto his side of the dueling field and glanced all around him. _Hopefully I won't get too anxious with all these people watching me, _he thought. Then, he allowed his eyes to fall upon his opponent, Gero.

"Ready for this, Freshman?" Gero said. Just by his voice, Tokoi could tell that he was very snobby and stuck-up.

_Oh man, I really hope I beat this guy, _Tokoi thought. "Never been more ready in my life!" Tokoi activated his duel disk.

"Let the first duel of the year begin!" Rhodes said, and the crowd cheered.

**To be continued...**

**Next Chapter: First Rival**


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